


eunhae | california dreams

by plincess_cho (ai_hao)



Series: 1+1=Love | Donghae x Eunhyuk [4]
Category: Super Junior
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, EunHae, Gen, lil california babies, non-au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 17:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_hao/pseuds/plincess_cho
Summary: Hyukjae takes off for Los Angeles without the person who makes California so wonderful.





	eunhae | california dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Donghae's recent [instagram post](https://www.instagram.com/p/BgukaISBLMF/?taken-by=leedonghae)
> 
> Sequel: [No Place Like Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857851)

It doesn’t officially sink in until they’re halfway over the Pacific Ocean. Hyukjae leans his seat back and tries to settle in for his third in-flight movie on the flight from ICN to LAX, but he’s grown listless and his mind has started to wander. They’re flying out to California to film a new dancing show, and he’s unbelievably excited. This is something that he’s dreamed of, worked for, and anticipated for years now. He had fought for eons to have Super Junior recognized as dancers instead of just “variety-idols” and now… now things are finally falling into place for him.

Taemin sits next to him, fast asleep. He had passed out the minute they’d gotten on the plane, and Hyukjae can’t blame him. He’d gotten a few texts from the other SHINee members before they’d taken off, quietly asking him to be sure to take care of Taemin. Hyukjae had replied with a resounding _“Of course, he’ll be in good hands.”_ He reaches over to turn off the light over Taemin’s seat that he must have turned on in his sleep.

He’s not exactly sure what their schedule will be like once they land in LA. He assumes that most of their time will be taken up with filming, but he hopes that they’ll have a little time to sightsee. He’s been to California several times of course, but you can never go to Disneyland too many times. Hyukjae makes a mental list of all the places he wants to visit: Disneyland, In-N-Out, the beach, maybe a winery, and…

And then he realizes, he realizes that Taemin and Kikwang will both be flying home directly after filming, he realizes that none of the other members will be joining him in the States, and he realizes…

He realizes that he’s never been to California without Donghae.

Super Junior had all come together a few times over the years, but he and Donghae had traveled together more recently for D&E activities. They’d even shot a few MV’s here. Hyukjae remembers their “Let’s Get It On” shoot fondly, running down the beach with their bare feet and trying to push each other into the ocean. It had been one of his favorite shoots, just wandering around the city with Donghae in tow. Things had seemed so simple then.

He’d left Donghae back at ICN nearly six hours ago. They’d flown in from Japan, and Donghae had left to go back home while Hyukjae had stood in line to get his passport checked for his journey to the States. He had been so caught up chatting with the others about the upcoming trip that he’d only given Donghae a brief goodbye. It hadn’t even registered that they’d be half a world apart.

 _“What’s the time difference again?”_ Donghae had asked the night before.

 _“Sixteen hours,”_ Hyukjae had replied, pulling up the clock on his phone. _“But really… think of it like I’m eight hours ahead, but on the day before.”_

_“That’s… confusing.”_

_“I know.”_

Time difference. They really hadn’t ever had to deal with it. Even when they’d been enlisted, they’d been far apart in distance but the time had been the same. This… this is different.

It’s weird.

Hyukjae doesn’t like it.

He gets up to use the toilet and looks at himself in the mirror in the tiny bathroom. The fluorescent lights are less than forgiving, but he thinks he looks alright. He’d taken off his makeup awhile ago and had already done his typical traveling sheet mask routine. The flight attendants never batted an eye at his Freddy Krueger-like appearance; he assumes they’ve seen much worse.

He makes his way back to his seat and plunks himself back down. They still have a good seven hours left to go, and he’s definitely getting antsy. He knows that he should sleep but…

Hyukjae sighs. Instead, he pulls out his phone and tries to connect to the in-air wifi. It’s usually slow and unreliable, but he doesn’t care. He’s got plenty of time.

 _AllRiseSilver: hey u still up_  
_Leedonghae: yes_  
_AllRiseSilver: cool_

He sounds like an idiot, and he knows it. He doesn’t really want to talk to Donghae, at least not like this. Hyukjae wants to _exist_ with Donghae: wrapping themselves up in the free blankets the airline gives them in business class, quietly giggling over dumb foreign movies they don’t really understand, ordering small bottles of alcohol just because they’re tiny, pointing at the map of the little plane making its way over the ocean. He wants to share these moments with Donghae but…

_Leedonghae: hows the flight_  
_AllRiseSilver: boring_  
_AllRiseSilver: what r u doing_  
_Leedonghae: drinking coffee_

They talk like this for awhile, and Hyukjae hates it. He really wishes that the wifi was fast enough for them to video chat, even if it’s just them watching each other watch movies. They’d done that before: Hyukjae remembers video chatting Donghae while he was in New York on vacation. Hyukjae had been curled up in bed watching Donghae eat breakfast in his hotel. It had been oddly nice: simply calming just to see his face and hear his voice. Things that couldn’t be conveyed through a simple text.

Hyukjae sighs. He feels sort of silly for feeling the way he does. After all, he’d literally seen Donghae less than seven hours ago and will probably video chat with him tomorrow.

It’s not that he can’t exist without Donghae; it’s just that Donghae makes everything better. Donghae and his dumb comments and stock photos and Bruno Mars songs and Americanos and… and the way he makes everyone around fall in love with him.

Because as long as Hyukjae has known him, Donghae has been incredibly easy to fall in love with.

Hyukjae readjusts himself in his seat and tries to find a comfortable position. He really should sleep. Donghae had signed off earlier saying that he was going to bed and that Hyukjae should do the same. He is excited to go back to California, really he is. Maybe if he closes his eyes, he’ll see California in his dreams.

**

California is… phenomenal. He and Kikwang wander around the whole city with some of the locals that they’ll be shooting with. They take them out to eat and show them around their side of the city, not just the touristy spots. The sun is shining, and it feels good against his face. Los Angeles is such a different city from Seoul, and Hyukjae wants to explore every inch of it.

By the end of the day, they’re exhausted from all the walking and talking. Hyukjae’s still adjusting to the time difference, and he starts to drag by the time they get back to the hotel. The managers go over their schedules for the next day before sending them off to their hotel rooms to shower and pass out. Hyukjae unlocks the door to his room and dumps his stuff on the floor. He heads straight for the bathroom to wash up from the day.

Once out of the shower, he pulls on some pajamas and opens a sheet mask packet from the stash he’d brought along. He unlocks the sliding glass door to the balcony attached to his room and looks out at the city below. He can hear cars honking still, and the city lights twinkle all around him. He sits in one of the deck chairs and chuckles to himself. How many times had he sat on hotel balconies looking at the city lights of somewhere new?

And how many times had he done that alone?

It had been a blessing that he and Donghae had bonded so quickly in the beginning. It had been weird being thrown into such a large group, and Hyukjae had been grateful to find his place early on. He still winces when he thinks about all of the trials they had put Kyuhyun through, just because he had joined the rest of them later. It had been ridiculous then and it feels even worse now, even though so many years have passed.

He remembers their first set of schedules out of the country. They’d gone to Thailand for a fanmeet, and everyone had been abuzz at their new adventure. Hyukjae had honestly felt quite nervous: it was his first time traveling outside of the country, and he hadn’t known what to expect. He remembers sitting next to Donghae on the airplane, gripping his hand for dear life as the plane had taken off into the sky. Hyukjae had been terrified of flying back then, and he’d held onto Donghae as if he was the only life preserver Hyukjae had left.

 _“I’m sorry,”_ Hyukjae had said when he’d finally let go of Donghae’s hands.

Donghae had stretched his fingers to restore circulation but had just smiled at Hyukjae. _“It’s okay,”_ he’d said. _“Let’s enjoy this new adventure together.”_

And they had.

The two of them had spent a multitude of nights standing out of their hotel balconies, looking out at the city and talking about life. That had been where Donghae had confessed that some days, he didn’t know why he was still a singer. It had been where Hyukjae had expressed his frustrations at the burden of being the vice leader while Leeteuk had been away. And it had been where they had sat and cried about the past, the future, and everything in between.

And yet now…

Hyukjae briefly contemplates breaking into the minibar but he decides against showing up to the first day of filming with a hangover. Instead, he peels the sheet mask off his face and tosses it into the trash. His skin better look phenomenal for tomorrow. He pulls back the sheets on the bed and plugs his phone into the wall. He realizes that he hasn’t heard from Donghae all day and his heart pangs. Sure, time difference, but…

But then there’s a knock on the door and suddenly, inexplicably, Donghae is there, standing on his doorstep and looking completely nonchalant.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

**

His alarm goes off far too early in the morning, and he has to reach over Donghae to turn it off. Donghae, who would sleep until afternoon if someone let him, is curled up under the blankets, and Hyukjae still can’t believe it. He’d opened the door to a rather tired Donghae who had informed him that he had schedules in LA too. Hyukjae had been so surprised that he hadn’t even argued when Donghae had rolled his suitcase next to Hyukjae’s and claimed one side of the bed.

Had they had more time, they could’ve stayed up on the balcony, talking about their past trips to California and talking about where they want to go in the future. More time, and they’d have ordered Cokes and burgers from room service and browsed through the American TV channels until they found a movie they’d already seen. More time, and they would’ve sneaked out to rent a car and made it to the beach, even in the dark.

But instead, Donghae had showered off the grime from the long-haul flight before tucking himself in next to Hyukjae. They had settled in and before long, Hyukjae had felt Donghae nestle against his side and fall fast asleep.

The sun shines through the open windows that they had forgotten to close the night before. Hyukjae simply smiles to himself as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes wonders if this is what California dreams were made of.

It must be, he thinks to himself. Because all of his California dreams start with the sun and end with Donghae.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love ♡
> 
> [twitter](twitter.com/plincess_cho) / [tumblr](plincess-cho.tumblr.com)


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